DOJ Brands NYC, Seattle, Portland ‘Anarchist Jurisdictions’ – Do You Support the Move?

What's the story?

• New York City, Portland, and Seattle are cities that "have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities," leading to its designation as an "anarchist jurisdiction," the Justice Department said Monday.
• Earlier this month, President Donald Trump released a memo asking the DOJ to identify cities supposedly “permitting anarchy, violence, and destruction," and to publish names on its website within two weeks.
• In a statement on Monday, Attorney General William Barr wrote:

“We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance... It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo responded harshly to the designation:

“I understand the politics, but when you try to manipulate and distort government agencies to play politics, which is what the Trump administration has done from day one … this is more of the same. The president can’t supersede the law and say I’m going to make those funds basically discretionary funds, which is what he would have to do.”

—Josh Herman